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WcP.Tomorrows.History's blog
25 Oct 1764. Future 2nd US President John Adams (28) weds Abigail Smith (19) in Massachusetts (marriage lasts 54 years)
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John Adams
Political Party: Federalist
Political Titles: Vice President, Member of the Continental Congress, Minister to Great Britain, Minister to the Netherlands
Presidential Term:
March 4, 1797 - March 4, 1801
Preceded By: George Washington
Succeeded By: Thomas Jefferson
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Image courtesy onthisday.com
Merrier and freer on car-free days. "In town without my car!" European Mobility Week in over 2000 cities & towns
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After the organization of two successful "In town without my car!" events in the whole of Europe, the year 2002 marked the start of a new initiative, the European Mobility Week! From 16 to 22 September 2009 the European Mobility Week was the opportunity for European cities and towns to participate to the most widespread event on sustainable mobility. A full week of events dedicated to sustainable mobility has been organized in more than 2000 cities and towns.
Choice for mankind sharing one planet - where to spend big? To make our only Earth greener, or grayer?
Original Source: GlobalSecurity.org and atomicarchive.com
Vauban's streets are nearly "car-free": on outskirts of Freiburg, Germany - suburban pioneers give up their cars
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VAUBAN, Germany - Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” - except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home. As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called “smart planning.”
Earth must be happy to see world's first heavy traffic road bridge made of wood, non-toxic, sequesters carbon
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On Saturday November 29th, the successful transportation and installation of the world’s first heavy traffic road bridge made from Accoya wood took place. The bridge, located in Sneek in the Netherlands, is the first wooden bridge in the world that can support the heaviest load class of 60 tons. Spanning 105 feet and rising more than 50 feet in the air, the structure will serve as a grand entrance to the city of Sneek.
April 20, 1887. Bouton and his co-driver won World's First Motor Race (on a steam-powered quadricycle), Paris, France
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World's First Motor Race
Event Date: April 20, 1887
Location: Paris, France
The record books show that on this day Georges Bouton “won the world’s first motor race”. But it was a hollow victory and there was no champagne celebration – because Bouton and his co-driver were the only ones taking part. And, in fact, it wasn’t even a car. It was a steam-powered quadricycle.
The event was a “test” organised by the newspaper Le Velocipede to see if Bouton’s machine, which had boasted speeds of 60kmph, could make the 29-kilometre distance between Neuilly Bridge in Paris and the Bois de Boulogne.
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Photo courtesy Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1st Emperor of United China, QinShiHuang(18Feb259–10Sep210 BC) standardized measurement,currency,Chinese script,built Great Wall
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The First Emperor of United China, Qin Shi Huang (18 February 259 BC – 10 September 210 BC) became the King Zheng of Qin when he was 13, then China's first emperor when he was 38 after the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified seven warring states of China in 221 BC. His public works projects included the unification of diverse state walls into a single Great Wall of China and a massive new national road system.
Qin Shi Huang and Li Si unified China economically by standardizing the Chinese units of measurements such as weights and measures, currency, and the length of the axles of carts to facilitate transport on the road system.
The emperor also developed an extensive network of roads and canals connecting the provinces to improve trade between them. The currency of the different states were also standardized to the Ban liang coin. Perhaps most importantly, the Chinese script was unified. Under Li Si, the seal script of the state of Qin was standardized through removal of variant forms within the Qin script itself. This newly standardized script was then made official throughout all the conquered regions, thus doing away with all the regional scripts to form one language, one communication system for all of China.
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